We Are Confident That the International Recognition of Artsakh Has Matured: Artsakh Ombudsman

The concluding observations of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination have documented instances of egregious human rights violations perpetrated by Azerbaijan during and after its aggression against Artsakh in 2020. This was announced by Artsakh's Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan.

He specifically noted, “We are pleased to mention that the concluding observations of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination include cases of gross human rights violations committed by Azerbaijan during and after the aggression against Artsakh in 2020, concerning the fulfillment of obligations undertaken by Azerbaijan under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.”

The committee's documented concerns regarding incitements of racial hatred and the propaganda of racist stereotypes against ethnic Armenians, including by Azerbaijani state officials, as well as the lack of proper investigations, clearly indicate that discriminatory policies are being implemented at the state level in Azerbaijan.

Other violations pointed out by the committee—such as the gross violations of the human rights of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians by the Azerbaijani armed forces, including extrajudicial killings, torture, inhumane treatment, and arbitrary detentions, as well as the destruction of Armenian cultural and religious heritage—are carried out in accordance with Azerbaijan's state discriminatory policies and are a continuation of that policy.

The observations presented by the committee are part of the systematic and large-scale discriminatory policy that has been implemented against the people of Artsakh for decades.

The implementation of Azerbaijan's discriminatory policies at the state level demonstrates that the path chosen by the people of Artsakh and the building of an independent state have no alternative. We are confident that the international recognition of Artsakh has matured as a manifestation of the international community's commitment to implementing effective measures to prevent gross human rights violations.